Good Monday morning, Broncos fans. Tonight the Broncos Insider comes to you from New York City, where we’re staying for the next eight days to cover Super Bowl XLVIII.

MANNING IS BACK IN 2014-15: The Denver Post’s Mike Klis in Jersey City, N.J., from Sunday’s first media briefing at the Super Bowl. “The Broncos have a guaranteed $20 million salary waiting for Manning next season. The grand plan is for Manning to collect that dough while hopefully defending the Super Bowl championship the Broncos can earn Sunday by defeating the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium in nearby East Rutherford.”

“‘A number of players have walked away as champions,’ Manning said. ‘I’m sure that’s a great feeling for those people. John Elway. Ray Lewis did it last year. Michael Strahan. Talking to Ray Lewis and talking to John Elway, they couldn’t play any more (physically). That was all they had to give. They truly left it all out there.’

“‘I still enjoy playing football. I feel a little better than I thought I would at this point coming off that (neck fusion) surgery.'” http://dpo.st/1e8lW3E

MILE HIGH SENDOFF: The Broncos boarded a United charter plane from Denver International Airport Sunday. At noon, hundreds of fans gathered at Civic Center to send the Broncos off: http://bit.ly/LcJSIw … PHOTOS showing the inside of the plane: http://bit.ly/1giatSe

Donald Rodriguez, 54, of Lakewood, waves a Broncos flag during a rally to send off the team from Denver. (Brenden Neville, Special to The Denver Post)

AND THEN THEY ARRIVED IN NEW JERSEYMike Klis reports: “After inching through the mob that awaited the Broncos in front of their hotel, the buses stopped and Denver football operations boss John Elway walked out of one. He was immediately approached by a handsome young man wearing a blue overcoat who somehow managed to fight his way through fans, media, security and state troopers.

“‘Mr. Elway,’ the man said. ‘Would you sign this for me?’ Patrick Smyth, the Broncos’ media relations director, quickly took control of the situation.

“‘Sir,’ Smyth said. ‘He has to keep moving. He has to meet the mayor of Jersey City.’

“The young man smiled. ‘I am the mayor of Jersey City,’ said Steven Fulop, 36, who has been the mayor since he was 28. ‘I have here a welcoming proclamation on behalf of Jersey City.'” http://dpo.st/1hD3Y9p

FORECAST for East Rutherford, N.J. on Super Bowl Sunday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39 degrees.

MATT PRATER should be well enough to practice Monday, he tells Mike Klis in the Broncos’ hotel. “Prater … at New York Jets headquarters in Florham Park, N.J., [will] kick for the first time since the Broncos beat the New England Patriots 26-16 in the AFC championship game.”

THE BRONCOS WILL TAKE their Super Bowl team picture Monday … Players and coaches are on their own until Thursday, when they’re joined by their wives and family members. http://dpo.st/1ckqjs8

AND MAYBE WES WELKER WILL BE wearing this for the team photo: The Broncos slot receiver showed up in a bright orange blazer for media availability on Sunday. See the photo: http://usat.ly/1brJM5Q

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TRENDING NOW: “Kara Christian of Denver showed her support of the team with a half-page advertisement on Page 3B in the Saturday Sports section of The Denver Post,” writes Denver Post business reporter Steve Raabe.

“The ad contains an inspiring message of how the Broncos have helped Christian deal with breast cancer and a resulting terminal prognosis.

“She addresses the ad — in which she identifies herself only as “The Bronco Lady” — to ‘my beloved Denver football team.’

“‘I want to make it clear that I did not do this for publicity,’ Christian said after being contacted Saturday by The Post. ‘I did it because I love the team and I want them to know how much they mean to me.'” http://dpo.st/1dZdUvs

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LUBBOCK, TEXAS, IS CHEERING FOR THE BRONCOS, writes The Post’s Nick Kosmider. “Wes Welker, Manny Ramirez and Louis Vasquez, more than a quarter of the Broncos’ record-setting starting offense this season, attended Texas Tech University in the heart of Lubbock. And each player has been a key contributor to the Broncos’ first Super Bowl in 15 years.”

“‘There’s only a handful of (former Texas Tech players) starting in the NFL, so to have three of them on one side of the ball playing in the Super Bowl, it’s pretty special,’ says Lubbock TV anchor Evan Onstot, who grew up in Denver and went to Arapahoe High School: http://dpo.st/1ckrt6S

AFTER THE BRONCOS’ PLAYOFF LOSS to the Ravens last year, Peyton Manning “was buoyed by how the single-digit temperatures that fell upon Sports Authority Field at Mile High during that game on Jan. 12, 2013 enabled him to get a jump on his preparation for the next time he faces such conditions.” And here we are, about a year later: http://dpo.st/1ckpiAe

“WHAT WE HEARD SUNDAY NIGHT is probably what we’ll hear Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when [Richard] Sherman meets more of the press,writes Sports Illustrated’s Peter King at MMQB. “Lots more. Last night, I’d estimate about 75 reporters and camera people were around him, as you can see above. He was in a good mood, happy to be there and happy to be the Stanford Richard Sherman, not the Fifteen-Seconds-After-The-Game Richard Sherman. The one thing I can tell you about Sherman, from having gotten to know him a little bit in our conversations—me as editor in chief of The MMQB, he as a regular columnist—is he’s an optimistic person. A realist, but an optimist too.” http://bit.ly/19X9fJx

RUSSELL WILSON “was busy impressing a gaggle of reporters Sunday night after the Seahawks arrived at the Westin, addressing questions as though he were born to be on the Super Bowl stage. He is only in his second season, but it feels like a second term of office the way he deals with the pressure and expectations of the NFL,” writes The Post’s Troy Renck. http://dpo.st/1ckrDLC

WHO WINS THE SUPER BOWL will determine where one Denver-Seattle couple gets married — either Bellingham, Wash., or Denver. The date? Oct. 26, 2015, and its significance shouldn’t be lost on “Back to the Future” afficianados: http://dpo.st/1ckoStA

“THE “12TH MAN” BANNERS are everywhere in the Seattle area,” reports Troy Renck from Jersey City, N.J. “And the fans behind them showed up in droves as the Super Bowl-bound Seahawks drove from team headquarters to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday.” Coach Pete Carroll put it simply: “The 12s were out in force.” http://dpo.st/1ckrCXU

FROM THE ARCHIVES A profile of Richard Sherman from Sept. 10, 2013, at our sister news org San Jose Mercury News: “At receiver, you’re limited. If the quarterback has a bad game, you’re having a bad game,” he explained. “But at cornerback, no matter what’s going on, if your man doesn’t catch the ball, you’re having a pretty good day. You control your own destiny.” http://bit.ly/1cKN7wH

BRONCOS FANS ABROAD … third part in a series of international Denver fans from The Post’s Patrick Saunders: Writes Takashi from Japan: “I have three children and my second son was born on the same day the Broncos won their second Super Bowl against Atlanta Falcons. I was so excited because two of the happiest moments came on the same day. So I was thinking about naming him either John or Terrell, but these names are not common in Japan, so my wife didn’t let me name him that.” http://dpo.st/1fp33Id

EXTRA BITS: Should the NFL lose its tax-exempt status? “Times are good for the National Football League. Viewership is up. For the 47th year in a row, Harris Interactive named pro football the most popular sport in America. And with overall revenues north of $9 billion, the NFL is the most lucrative sports league on the planet. … The NFL pays nothing in taxes on all those revenues. Not a nickel,” writes Andy Kroll of Mother Jones.

“The NFL pays nothing in taxes on all those revenues. Not a nickel. And now the anti-corruption organization Rootstrikers wants to put an end to the NFL’s free ride.

“Over the weekend, Rootstrikers blasted out an email urging people to sign a petition in support of Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) PRO Sports Act, which would ban big sports leagues from receiving tax-exempt status. Coburn’s bill would ban pro sports leagues with more than $10 million in revenue from receiving tax-exempt status. …

“To be clear, as the NFL points out, much of pro football’s billions in revenue ultimately get funneled to the league’s 32 teams, which do pay taxes.” http://bit.ly/18vFi2e

SEAHAWKS CORNERBACK BRANDON BROWNER is taking his barber to the Super Bowl, reports the Tri-City Herald in Washington state. “[Kennewick barber Mark Baysinger] said he’s going to New Jersey next week to cut Seahawks players’ hair before they take the field against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

“The trip is the result of friendships he forged with Seahawks safety Earl Thomas and other players during the season.” And it started with a post on Instagram: http://bit.ly/1aCmzU1

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.